The New Broadview, East St. Louis

2026 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Rehabilitation & Richard H. Driehaus Legacy Award

The New Broadview is a landmark rehabilitation project that transformed the former Broadview Hotel in East St. Louis into a thriving mixed-use community asset. Built in 1927 as the area’s largest and most prominent hotel, the seven-story Classical Revival building included modern amenities and was also the host to the city’s first radio station, WIL. The hotel hosted community events and was used by Southern Illinois University until 2004. The property sat vacant and deteriorating for two decades before architect Rosemann & Associates and developer Efficacy Consulting and Development launched a more than $30 million rehabilitation. The New Broadview now includes 110 affordable housing units for seniors and veterans with area median incomes between 0 percent and 60 percent. The building also has over 20,000 square feet of commercial and community space, including supportive housing services and business incubation spaces, a technology center, a gym, salon and restaurant and transit connectivity. Beyond physical improvements, the rehabilitation of the building brings economic development along with local pride to the region, reaffirming that East St. Louis is a great place to live and work. Completed in March 2025, this project’s model – pairing historic preservation with affordable housing, community business incubation and social programming – proves how adaptive reuse can deliver transformative, equitable impact in historically disinvested communities.

Additional information

The Broadview Hotel appeared on Landmarks Illinois’ Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois in 2021 after decades of vacancy had led to considerable damage. The building required extensive structural rehabilitation as well as the modernization of all building systems, accessibility upgrades and sustainable design integration. In 2013, the building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places, making the project eligible for federal and state historic preservation tax credits. The Illinois River Edge Historic Tax Credit Program, specifically, provided critical financial support to the project. Using historic preservation tax credits required the developers to sensitively rehabilitate or replace in-kind the hotel’s defining architectural features and spaces. In addition to historic preservation tax credits, the project was financed through a complex capital stack, including more than $20 million from the Illinois Housing Development Authority in the form of HOME loan funds; state tax credits and other affordable housing support; IL Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Rebuild Illinois funding; legislative earmarks; Red Stone tax credit equity investment; city loans; and private capital.

Project Principals

• Owner/Developer: Efficacy Consulting & Development, Tier 1 development (Co-developer), Community Lifeline (Nonprofit developer), Pruitt and Associates (Developer consultant)
• Historic Tax Credit & LIHTC Equity Investor: Red Stone Equity Partners, Sugarcreek Capital
• General Contractor: Altman Charter Company
• Architect: Rosemann & Associates, P.C.
• Civil / Structural Engineering: Horner & Shifrin, Inc.
• Historic Preservation Consultant: Karen Baxter Bode
• Public Financing Partners: Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, City of East St. Louis, St. Clair County Housing Authority, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth
• Property Management: McCormack Baron Management, Inc.

LI Why is this place important to you?

Yaphett El-Amin, Owner & President, Efficacy Consulting & Development LLC

For our team, the New Broadview stands as evidence that historic preservation, affordable housing, diversity and economic inclusion are not separate goals; they are strongest when pursued together. We believe that preserving historic buildings in underserved communities is an act of social justice as much as it is an act of preservation, because every community deserves to see its history honored and its future invested in.

How did saving this place impact people in your community?

Yaphett El-Amin, Owner & President, Efficacy Consulting & Development LLC

The rehabilitation of the New Broadview has transformed both a landmark building and the spirit of downtown East St. Louis. Most importantly, the project converted a long-vacant historic building into 110 affordable homes for seniors, allowing residents to remain in the community they love while enjoying safe, modern housing with supportive services.

Its impact, however, extends well beyond housing. For decades, the New Broadview stood as a reminder of unrealized potential. Today, it serves as tangible proof that meaningful investment can occur in historically underserved communities. As the first major historic preservation redevelopment completed in downtown East St. Louis, the project demonstrates that preservation can serve as a catalyst for broader neighborhood revitalization. With more than twenty additional National Register properties nearby, we hope this investment encourages others to see the possibilities that still exist throughout the downtown district.

The project also created meaningful economic opportunities by prioritizing minority-owned businesses and workforce participation, resulting in more than 20 percent minority participation during construction. That commitment reflects our belief that community revitalization should create opportunities for local people as well as restore historic places.

Perhaps the greatest impact has been restoring pride and optimism. Residents, former occupants and longtime community members frequently share stories about what the New Broadview meant to them in earlier generations. Today, they see those memories honored through a beautifully restored landmark that once again serves the people of East St. Louis.